One of the more highly contested quarterback battles this offseason has pitted Jameis Winston against Taysom Hill for the starting gig with the New Orleans Saints.

Hill went 3-1 as the starter in 2020 when Drew Brees went down with an injury and Winston was the former No. 1 overall pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Winston will get the start Monday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars after Hill started the first exhibition game for the Saints.

Head coach Sean Payton, via Peter King's “Football Morning in America,” has a timeline he'd like to stick to in naming a starter.

After Hill got the start in Baltimore last week, Winston gets this one. Payton told me he hopes to name his starter before the final preseason game Saturday against Arizona, so Winston’s performance with the first team for multiple series will be the most important game he’s played since he lost his job in 2019 in Tampa Bay.

Unlike the Jaguars' situation in which they still claim that No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence and Gardner Minshew are battling it out for their No. 1 spot at quarterback, the duel with the Saints is legitimate.

King made note of how tricky the scenario could become for Payton, given the lack of weapons around whoever is the starting quarterback and that Hill could be a primary one if he isn't named the starter for the Saints.

Picking Winston would crush Hill…But it would allow Payton to retain Hill as his Swiss Army Knife weapon on offense and special teams. With the loss of trusted tight end Jared Cook in free agency and with wideout Michael Thomas out till October after ankle surgery, Hill—who had 108 snaps at tight end/wide receiver/slot last year—is the kind of weapon Payton would miss if he was the starting quarterback.

Good luck to Payton in deciding the starter for the Saints. Both are more than worthy candidates in Hill and Winston.